


Dog Biscuit Day

by arcadianpetriedish



Category: The X-Files
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Romantic Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-10
Updated: 2016-09-10
Packaged: 2018-08-14 07:31:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8003836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arcadianpetriedish/pseuds/arcadianpetriedish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mulder decides to celebrate all the holidays with Scully.  ...Including the much lesser known ones.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dog Biscuit Day

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for @txf-fic-chicks birthday fic contest on Tumblr. I've been working on some heavy stuff, so it was the perfect time for some straight up Mulder is a big ol' softie fluff.
> 
> Also, AO3's word count lies. Microsoft Word says 2499 words, so I'm going with that (the contest was 2500 words or less, and I already cut out at least 400. Hrmph.

Fox Mulder stood at the discount table of a bookstore, a clearance-priced “365 Crazy Holidays” day calendar in his hands, and an elaborate idea in his mind.

The shrink wrap had been torn off long ago, so Mulder could flip through the entire calendar.  Several of the days couldn’t _possibly_ be real.   _Talk like a Grizzled Prospector Day?_ Mulder rolled his eyes and continued to flip.  His eyes narrowed at January 11th – Cigarettes are Hazardous to Your Health Day.   _Cigarette_ smokers _are hazardous to my health_ , he thought.

 January 12th – Kiss a Ginger Day.  Mulder grinned.   _NOW we’re talking_.  Had he known, he would have _definitely_ welcomed the opportunity to celebrate with his favorite ginger.

February 22nd – The day old Smokey tried to poison the world.  He looked at the holiday.   _That bastard pulled that shit on National Margarita Day??_  Mulder was belatedly outraged as he flipped to the next day.  February 23 rd – National Dog Biscuit Day.   _Daggoo would be down to celebrate that day.  He’d love to make up for lost time if Scully let him._  Mulder’s brain slammed to a halt.

 That was Scully’s birthday.  Dammit!  He’d been in the hospital, and it was just like her to not even mention it during his brief moments of consciousness.  Before all that craziness, Mulder had plans to do something for Scully’s birthday.  He wasn’t exactly sure _what_ , but since they’d been getting along so well, he wanted to do something nice to let her know that he still remembered and he still cared.  Maybe _he_ could make up for lost time, starting now.  Mulder was just finishing his purchase when Scully walked through the door.  He rolled the top down tight on the bag as she came over to hug him hello.

“Sorry I’m late.  Traffic was…” Scully gestured her hands in frustration.

 Mulder shrugged.  “Traffic was traffic.  Coffee or tea?”

—

April 16th was Record Store Day, according to the calendar.  Mulder would always remember it as:  April 16th – The Day Scully Moved Home.  He was going to take every opportunity to make up for missing her birthday, the last four years, everything.  He wondered how long it would take Scully to catch on to what he was doing.

It began.

  
APRIL 19 – National Bicycle Day:  Mulder and Scully took a few days off work to finish packing her things for the move to Mulder’s house.  They were taking a break late Tuesday afternoon in DC, when Mulder walked up behind Scully.

“Wanna go for a ride?”

Scully’s eyes widened as she turned, taking in Mulder’s attire, lingering her gaze on his bicycle shorts.

“Where did,” she began, flustered.  “We don’t have bikes?”

“Downstairs.  Rented.  Let’s ride through the park and watch the sunset, then maybe get some food,” he suggested.

Scully smiled up at him.  “That actually sounds wonderful, Mulder.”

MAY 3rd – Paranormal Day:  Mulder tried to persuade Scully to take in the Haunted History marathon.  She good-naturedly sat through two of them before bowing out.  He’d have to try again.

MAY 7th – World Naked Gardening Day:  Mulder woke to the sound of a thunderstorm.  Concerned, he checked the weather app on his phone.  80% chance of storms all day.   _Dammit_ , he thought, _there goes_ that _idea._

MAY 25th – National Wine Day:  Scully was surprised to come home to low lights, lit candles, a home cooked meal, and a bottle of her favorite red.  Mulder was waiting for her, still wearing his KISS THE COOK apron.   _With pleasure,_ she thought.

JUNE 6th – Drive in Movie Day:  Scully occasionally becomes nervous when Mulder tells her to get in the car.  She’s used to the comfortable silence between them on long drives, but wondered why he stopped in Stephens City.  As they pulled into the long line at the Family Drive-In Theatre, Mulder tells her he thought it would be a great night for a movie.  She remembers nothing of the movie and plenty of the time in the car with Mulder.

JUNE 10-11 – Banana Splits Day:  Mulder takes Scully to an old fashioned ice cream shoppe and orders an enormous banana split for them to share.  She giggles when he gets whipped cream on his nose, and he stares as she eats the cherry.  He suddenly regrets not even suggesting World Bike Naked Day as a tease.  He briefly gets lost in thought, imagining a road full of naked bikers in London pedaling on the wrong side of the street.

JULY 2 – World UFO Day:  Mulder doesn’t even try until late at night, after they’d gone to bed.  Scully was surprisingly okay with role-playing an abduction.  She was the alien.  Mulder was probed.  They both thought it was hot.

JULY 11 – Day of the Five Billion:  He wouldn’t dream of letting that one pass by unnoticed.

JULY 11 – Paperback Book Day:  Mulder left a used paperback book at Scully’s place at the kitchen table.  She looked up quizzically when she noticed it.

 “The War of the Worlds, Mulder?”

 Mulder innocently shrugged at her and winked before turning back to the kitchen cabinets.

Scully flipped to a small card stuck between the pages.  Her breath caught in her throat when she read Mulder’s slightly messy scrawl: _You’re still my one in five billion._  
                   
AUGUST 15 th – National Cupcake Day:  Mulder brought home a box of deliciously sinful treats, and Scully went straight for them.  She looked so happy; it broke Mulder’s heart when he’d read that something called _Check the Chip Day_ was the same day.

AUGUST 17th – National Thrift Shop Day:  They both loved the thrill of finding something incredible at thrift stores, but nothing caught their eye that day.  As they walked to their car, Mulder told Scully to go ahead, then turned and jogged back to the store.  A few minutes later, he returned with a boyish grin on his face and something clutched in his hand.  Once settled into the car, he proudly presented her with an 80’s era Disney World keychain bearing a photo of Donald Duck and the name DANA.

SEPTEMBER 2nd-5th – Sand Sculpting Days:  Leave it to a hurricane to ruin Mulder’s plans for a Labor Day weekend of beach fun with Scully.  He had been looking forward to that one all week.

SEPTEMBER 25th – National One-Hit Wonder Day:  Mulder made a playlist, and Scully ended up having the chorus to “Come On Eileen” stuck in her head for three whole days.

OCTOBER 5th – National Kale Day:  Mulder stood in the kitchen, carefully spreading the seasoned kale leaves across a cookie tray, then checking the recipe again before putting the tray in the oven.  Scully loved kale chips.  Mulder never really had the desire to try them, but he hoped they were at least slightly edible.  Once they were done, he placed them in a bowl and carried it to the living room, where Scully was curled on the couch, reading a book.

“I made snacks,” Mulder announced, then watched as a pair of sky blue eyes appeared over the top of the book she was reading.

“Kale chips??  I love those,” Scully exclaimed, reaching for the bowl.  “But Mulder, when did you start liking kale?”

Mulder took a chip and nibbled on the corner of it, hoping he wasn’t making a face.  It actually wasn’t half bad.

He looked surprised as he said, “Today?”                  

Scully laughed.  “You always surprise me, Mulder.”

_Good_ , he thought as he sat down and shared the couch and the kale chips with Scully.

—

Scully was home alone, armed with a feather duster one fall afternoon while Mulder was out for a run.  She opened the door to Mulder’s home office and took a step back.  He was much better at cleaning these days, but that musty smell lingered.  She walked to his desk, in search of the can of Glade that she knew was in there,  _somewhere_.

A cursory glance across the surface of his desk provided nothing useful.  She was absolutely _not_ the type of person to go through someone’s things when they weren’t around.  She wasn’t.  But when she opened the deep drawer, she found the can of Glade, but she also couldn’t help but notice the fully intact 2016 “365 Crazy Holidays” desk calendar perched on top of a pile of files.

_Why isn’t this on his desk_ , she wondered.  She picked it up and sat at his desk, flipping through the pages at random.  Nothing was torn out, but she noticed he’d highlighted some of the days, followed by a red checkmark or a black x.  Scully immediately recognized it as some sort of code.  Dusting forgotten, she started back at the beginning, flipping through the pages as she looked for anything highlighted.  The day before her birthday was National Margarita Day.  Spartan Virus; she wouldn’t be forgetting _that_ day anytime soon.  She flipped the page.

“National _Dog Biscuit_ Day??”  Scully was slightly offended.  Daggoo raised an ear at the mention of treats, then went back to sleep at Scully’s feet.  If that was _her_ birthday holiday, what the hell was Mulder’s?  She flipped down to October 13th and stared in shock for five full seconds before bursting into gales of laughter.  Daggoo startled awake and ran from the room, in search of a less unpredictable spot to nap.  Wiping tears from her eyes, Scully fell into another fit of giggles at the thought of Fox Mulder’s luck to be born on National Skeptics Day.

Once she’d regained a bit of composure, she began to look at some of the dates and holidays Mulder highlighted.  Her sharp mind immediately made the connections, and her eyes widened as she saw the page for National UFO Day on July 2nd.So _that’s_ why he’d wanted her to ‘abduct’ him that night.

The bike rides, drive-in, even the _kale_ started to make sense to her.  The only thing she didn’t understand was _why_.  It wasn’t a ploy to get her to move back home; she was already there by the time he’d started this.  Scully chewed her lip in thoughtful concentration.  She checked the page for the day – October 10 th: National Kick Butt Day.  A devilish smile crossed her face as she returned the calendar to the deep drawer, exchanged it for the can of Glade, and strode out of the room, leaving a trail of linen scented mist in her wake.

OCTOBER 13th – Mulder’s Birthday:  Consciousness slowly washed over Mulder like a warm bath as he tried to hold on to the last fragments of a dream he’d already forgotten.  He blinked at the ceiling fan.   _55._  Mulder never thought he’d live long enough to reach middle age.  He didn’t feel –

Scully?  Her side of the bed was empty.  He eased out of bed and padded into his office.   He pulled out the calendar, trying to remember if there was anything special today.

There were two entries:

1\.     National Skeptics Day – _Scully would have a field day if she saw that_ , he thought.

2\.     International Day of Failure – “Well, fuck you, too, Mr. Calendar,” Mulder muttered.

Breakfast on the brain, he found Scully in the kitchen.  Scully was stirring either cake or pancake batter, and Daggoo kept a watchful eye out for anything that might fall to the floor.  He bravely tapped a paw against Scully’s leg.

“No,” she said sternly.  “No begging.  You know better.”

“Even _I_ know that doesn’t work, Daggoo-dog,” Mulder said as he walked into the kitchen, startling Scully.

“Mulder!”  She was beaming at him.  “Oh-oh!  Wait!”  She grabbed her smartphone off the counter and started furiously swiping at it.  She looked at him expectantly.  “You ready?”

Mulder cocked his head to the side, braced himself, and nodded.

Scully giggled and pressed play, and with the volume on max, Sammy Hagar screamed out a line of his one solo hit.

“I!  CAN’T!  DRIVE!  …….FIFTY-FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!!!!”

_That_ was unexpected.  Scully loved the bewildered look on his face.  Her own lit up with Mulder’s favorite thousand-watt smile as she went to him and squeezed his hands.

“Happy Birthday, Mulder,” she said softly, standing on her tiptoes and pulling him down for a kiss until the rumble of his stomach stopped them both.

—

Later, Scully presented Mulder with a small box and waited for his reaction.

It was the 2017 edition of the “365 Crazy Holidays” calendar.

Busted.  “You found it?”

“By accident,” she admitted.  “I have to know.  What’s all this about, Mulder?”

Mulder took a deep breath.  “I missed your birthday this year, Scully.”

Scully began to protest, but Mulder held up a hand to finish.

“I’d wanted to do something nice for you, and then I wound up in the hospital.“  He shook his head.  “Scully, I have been _euphoric_ to have you in my life again.  I missed so much, missed _you_ so much over the past few years, I didn’t want to take one more day for granted.  I’d celebrate every day, if you’d let me.  I found the calendar at the bookshop, and when I looked through it, I thought there _was_ a way I could celebrate you in my own way, almost every day.  I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to think I was up to something.  There was never an ulterior motive.  You came home.  That’s all I ever wanted, all I _ever_ want _._  You.  Happy.  Here.  With me,” he finished.

Scully was stunned speechless; he’d done all of that for _her_.  Their eyes locked.  “Mulder…  You didn’t miss my birthday.  You lived through it when there was serious concern that you wouldn’t.  That’s the best birthday present I could’ve ever gotten.  I was distraught at the thought of losing you again.”

She picked up the new calendar.  “Let’s have fun with this _together_ next year?”

“It’s a date,” Mulder replied.  “Speaking of, if you saw my calendar, I suppose you already saw today’s holidays?  I’m bracing myself.”

Scully grinned at him.  “Well, I saw that it’s National Failure Day, which is  _obviously_ not about you.”  She paused.  “I also something about today being National Skeptics Day?”  She couldn’t even finish without giggling.  “Mulder, I have to admit, when I saw that, I laughed so hard, I scared Daggoo out of the room.”

Mulder winced and laughed.  “Got a pretty vivid mental image.”

Scully’s lips curled into a half-grin laced with a touch of slyness.  “You know, Mulder, your calendar isn’t the final authority on holidays.”

“Oh?”

Scully nodded.  “I did some research of my own and found another one.  I’d love it if you’d celebrate it with me.”

“So what else is October 13th,” Mulder asked.

Scully stood up and crossed the room towards him, slowly unbuttoning her shirt as she went.  She unfastened the final button as she reached him and perched herself on his lap.  Her shirt now hanging loose, Mulder could see the bare skin between her breasts.

Scully leaned in close and pulled his hands to her waist.

“October 13th is National No Bra Day.”


End file.
